Spanish cable firm Ono has missed the February 12 deadline to gain approval from lenders to refinance a E1.8bn piece of debt, according to reports.
Last week a banker familiar with the deal told TelecomFinance that the talks were ‘ongoing’ and it appears…
Spanish cable firm Ono has missed the February 12 deadline to gain approval from lenders to refinance a E1.8bn piece of debt, according to reports.
Last week a banker familiar with the deal told TelecomFinance that the talks were ‘ongoing’ and it appears that the firm has yet to persuade 80% of the lenders to agree to the change in terms.
Ono has approached lenders with a set of proposals to refinance part of its E3.6bn senior debt which expires by 2013.
All of the company’s 79 lenders met on January 19 to hear details of the plan, Ono – formally known as Cableuropa – said.
The proposal’s main features include E200m in new pay-in-kind shareholder notes; a reset of financial covenants and the issuance of a new loan or bond, either directly Ono or through a special purpose vehicle.
If it fails, key concerns would be Ono’s covenant headroom and amortisation schedules in 2010.
Ono has some E4.15bn in total debt, representing nearly 6x its EBITDA. Much of this stems from the E3.6bn senior facility it arranged in 2007 with a club of banks including Calyon, Fortis, RBS, BSCH and SG. Of this, two term loans A and B totalling E1.8bn expire by 2012, while the rest expires in 2013.
The debt refi would take the shape of a forward-start facility, maturing in 2013 and composed of tranches that could be drawn upon to cover the debt that expires before then.
Goldman Sachs is advising Ono on the deal.
